According to a report by Statistics Canada, there was a slight decrease in the number of human trafficking incidents reported to police last year from the year before.
There were 570 incidents in 2023, compared to 597 in 2022, or 1.4 incidents for every 100,000 people, down from 1.5.
"Human trafficking offences involve the recruitment, transportation or harbouring of a person, and they include controlling and influencing movements with the goal of exploiting, or facilitating the exploitation of a person," said the report. "Human trafficking can take on many forms, most often sexual exploitation or forced labour."
The agency warned statistics only provide a partial picture of the problem because human trafficking is often under-reported to police. Part of the problem lies in the finite resources police have available to investigate cases, along with the victim's inability to recognize their exploitation.
Between 2013 and 2023, 4,500 incidents were reported to police across Canada. Human trafficking accounted for 0.02 per cent of all police-reported crimes.
The highest rate is in Nova Scotia and Ontario.
The report noted in Ontario, there are many urban areas and border crossings which may aid human traffickers in the movement of victims. The province's rate is 2.1, well above the national average of 1.4 for 100,000 population.
Forty-five per cent of human trafficking cases were in just five Canadian cities between 2013 and 2023. Twenty per cent were in the Toronto area, which had 902 incidents. Ottawa accounted for nine per cent of all incidents, while London had 202 or four per cent. The other two cities cited in the report are Halifax and Montreal, which accounted for six per cent of all incidents each.
Most victims are girls and women, and most of the accused traffickers are men.
Most, about 91 per cent, knew their trafficker. Intimate partners accounted for 34 per cent of those accused, while 22 per cent were casual acquaintances. The accused was previously unknown to the victim in only nine per cent of cases.
Meanwhile, getting a conviction for human trafficking remains a challenge in the courts. Statistics Canada said only one in ten resulted in a guilty conviction.